Jason Carter: Race not about my name

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jason Carter on Wednesday kicked off his general election campaign, saying that his race against Gov. Nathan Deal will be about the future of the state and not his family name.

“My family legacy is one that I’m very proud of,” the Georgia state senator said on CNN’s “New Day.” “My grandfather, I think, is known as a person of honesty and integrity and folks want a little more of that integrity back in the governor’s office, frankly. But that’s not what this election will be about.”

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The grandson of former President Jimmy Carter last night won an uncontested Democratic primary to take on Deal, the first-term Republican governor who sailed through his primary election with 72 percent of the vote.

Without a primary challenge, Jason Carter throughout the campaign has focused his efforts on attacking Deal, largely on education and jobs.

“He’s got a horrible record on education,” he said Wednesday, “and frankly, the middle class and average working person in Georgia has been left out. And people around the state are ready for a change. It’s time to rotate the crop.”

Carter also attributed the state’s drop in unemployment rate to the national recovery and said that Georgia is still lagging behind other states. “Gov. Deal’s touting of this economy as a good one just demonstrates how out of touch he is with the average Georgian,” he said.

After winning his primary, Deal criticized Carter for being from “the party that wants to raise your taxes, that wants to take away your freedom and wants to tell you what to do because they believe government knows best.”